


Stork Raider

by Anonymous_Foresight



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan, ノラガミ | Noragami (Anime & Manga), 僕だけがいない街 | Boku dake ga Inai Machi | ERASED (Anime & Manga), 約束のネバーランド | Yakusoku no Neverland | The Promised Neverland (Manga)
Genre: Gen, Identity Reveal, Psychological Drama, Psychological Trauma, Symbolism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-22
Updated: 2019-07-24
Packaged: 2020-07-11 15:49:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19930576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anonymous_Foresight/pseuds/Anonymous_Foresight
Summary: A mysterious girl tries to uncover the secrets of child birth. Throughout her journey though, strange things about her existence are revealed to her.





	1. Genesis

**Author's Note:**

> This is a mini series I'm creating. The chapters are short, but have major detail. The thriller aspect of how the mysteries come together is engaging for people that love to piece together symbolism. There will be very little dialogue, but when its present, it will be significant.

We've all wondered where babies come from at one point in our lives. Some say its sex, some say we're robots, some say its storks…..but here's my story. There once was a group of nameless children that lived with this nice man in a forest filled with oaks and foliage. He would hunt for them; cook for them; clothe them; everything a parent would. He owned a large estate built by he and his first kids.

The estate was large enough to house a small elementary school. It was a semi vibrant yellow and white stone house with several wooden porches and 3 stories with an attic and basement. Each kid had slightly dirty overalls from playing outside. Each had red hair with the younger kids slightly chubby from being well fed, and the older kids skinnier, but not malnourished. The older kids helped with chores, while the younger ones had slightly less to do. The younger kids wore newer clothes than the older kids as if the era of their clothing was different.

The estate was filled with children between the ages of 2 to 11 years; with the children 12 and older leaving the estate. The old man never tried to stop the older children from leaving the estate and was focused on keeping everyone happy and healthy. The estate never had more than 35 children and no less than 20. There were no rules for the children. They could wander wherever they wanted as long as they weren't putting themselves in danger. The old man could somehow sense when a kid was in danger, but rarely has a kid put themselves in danger. Even so, there were a few mysteries that needed to be solved in the estate.

One was that none of the kids knew what had happened to the older kids over 12 years of age, but the old man assured them that they were old enough to make their own decisions by then and wander off to a new life. There was only one kid that didn't believe the story, so she wandered off one day and stalked the old man. She saw him hunting, gathering, cooking, teaching, training; anything ordinary that you could think of. _How could someone spew something so eerie, yet do nothing out of the ordinary?_

She gave up after a few weeks of stalking and instead changed her focus to the older kids. A group of 6 of them were about to turn 12 so she waited patiently until all of them were of age and followed them as they wandered off. They didn't seem to veer far and stayed in their hideout for months on in until one day, something uncanny happened.

On this day, the girl noticed a hypnotic aura surrounding the area. It was almost as if an angel or a demon was calling to them. She resisted enough to follow the kids to where they headed without drawing attention to herself. They ventured a great distance to the edge of the forest pass the familiar oaks she played near. The girl watched as they headed towards a hooded figure draped in crimson and silver. The children split up with half of them following the hooded figure, while the others trailed off into a deeper part of the forest. Conflicted, the girl had to choose who to follow to get answers.


	2. Crimson Hoods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following the older kids to observe what happens once they leave the estate, our protagonist is faced with another mystery about the forest.

Dark and hollow was dawn. Dew filled the musty forest with its aroma. The thumping of a heart filled the silence of the rising morning. The salty savor of anxiety fueled irrational thought. The girl felt the tension of her choice.

The small red haired girl had followed the group veering through the depths of the forest and found a mansion. The mansion was filled with crimson hooded figures. The girl watched from afar as the 3 new recruits joined the crimson hoods. She was confused as to their motive, but then something interesting occurred. 

One of the Crimson Hoods took their hood down. What had shown was terrifying! Nightmarish even! The Crimson Hood, like Slenderman, didn't have a face! The hypnotic aura filled the air again around the older children. It was much more intense this time that even the girl had partially succumb now. Before her cover was blown though, something brought her back to reality.

The girl heard voices near her and panicked. The other 3 children arrived and seemed extremely docile. They didn't move; They didn't speak; They didn't even breathe too hard without permission. As the sun rose, a van arrived and the 3 kids got in, then it disappeared from view down the road.

As the girl witnessed baffled and starstruck, the other children were given Crimson Hoods and their faces started to gradually fade away. An eye; an ear; nose; lips; then even the jaw, cheeks, and forehead! A shadow veiled their faces. It was as if a dark void had consumed their features. Traumatized by the display, the girl stiffly walked the widest, most fast pace walk she could muster as to not make noise while exiting the site. 

As she trailed back to the house, she pondered what all this could mean. _What truly happened to kids after 12 years? Who is this old man? What function do they serve? Why are they split into groups? What was that hypnotic aura? Why could I resist?_ All the questions one might ponder in this situation. When she arrived back home, she found something intriguing: a clue to help her in her quest.


	3. Name

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our protagonist finds something that could help her unveil another mystery of the forest. This could be the answer to her origin.

There it was! The puzzle piece she needed to unveil her origin! There it shown clear and brighter than the twinkle in her eyes!

The girl had found a birth certificate! The name and parents were not filled out yet. She was 9 years of age at this moment. She had 3 more years until she would be taken from the house. She had to find answers ASAP!

The girl started her search of the estate in the Kids Room. Filled with toys, slob, cries, and other distracting elements, the girl searched every inch of the room. She eventually finds a loose part of the closet wall. Once everyone was asleep, the girl scavenged the loose wall and found a box with a fork-shaped key hole. She ponders the significance of it until morning.

The next morning, the girl searched the kitchen for a fork that would fit the key hole. There wasn't a single fork in the kitchen that fit the hole, so the girl searched the area the old man ate his food when he wanted to eat alone and enjoy the nature. The kids weren't prohibited from the area, inadvertantly, and usually went there to talk the old man's ear off while he ate with his special spoon. The girl asked the old man to show her his forks, but the old man went on a tangent about how good his food was and how much he loved teaching the younger kids. So as the girl awaited him to trail back to the topic, the old man ended with:

"Even after all these years, you'd expect someone to eventually get bored of taking care of another. Resent them even. But the joy I get from unconditionally caring for all of you is unfathomed! Money? Power? Status? What are these things when I have something I would never trade for the world?"

As the girl pondered what the old man said before giving her his forks and dirty dishes, her heart chilled and her head hurt trying to decipher the genuine speech. The old man asked her to return his utensils after she was done using them. "I hope you find what you're looking for," were his final words before she headed off. 

Frantically shaking, the girl used every fork the old man had given her to try to open the box and... None worked to her dismay. The girl felt a wave of depression wash over her psyche. The feeling of failure hurt her more than anything she had ever felt. Her puzzle was almost complete and some unknown force had destroyed her progress and scattered the pieces. A shadow haunted her as she returned the dishes to the old man the next day. On her face had shown sleep deprivation. Her hair frizzled with angst. Her mood drastically less inquisitive. 

The girl followed her usual routine: washing dishes; watching the younger kids; washing clothes; eating; but then instead of playing, she isolated herself. The old man sensed her impending depression and invited her to come talk to him. He offered her some of his fruit, but she refused. He tried asking her about her day and even tried telling her a story. She didn't reciprocate until he used his spoon in a peculiar way while eating his fruit salad. Her eyes lit up and the shadow that was weighing her down started to weaken. The spoon's edge could lift to become a spork that was similar in shape to the key hole! The girl asked to wash the old man's dishes again and he asked her to return his spoon shortly after washing because it was special to him.

The girl skimmed over the comment in her excitement and ran to the box after cleaning the spork. She shoved the spork inside the keyhole ever so frantically and..... it didn't work. The shadow over her grew larger as she panicked. Her frail arms dropped. Her red hair frizzed. Her eyes drowned in salty tears, similar to that of ocean water, protruding from the crevices in her eye sockets. The shadow started to smother her more and more to the point she physically tried to ply the shadow off of her skin with the spork. She pierced into her skin ever so deeply to rip out the roots of the intangible shadow. Her arm bled a vibrant hue. She smashed the box on the ground and it bounced back to her face cracking her nose from the sheer material force.

The girl, enraged, shoved the back end of the spork as far as she could inside the keyhole and twisted as hard as she could and snapped the spork. The box opened. The girl was silent. The shadow laid still. The room was motionless. Her breath still. Her goal overwhelmed her. The glimmer of dim light from the box displayed another puzzle piece. The girl lifted the object. It was unusual, but familiar. Her heart skipped beats. Her breath gradually increased. 

The girl had returned the broken spork and the old man was devastated, but then she showed him the object and his heart stopped. Ocean water tears crept through the crevices of his eyes; his face blushed the hardest hue; his eyes sparkled brighter than hers; his mouth quivered as he tried to utter his words; his nose widened as he shivered a, "thank you my love." The object was a crimson spork just like his silver one. It was created by the first children. _The first children. A special spork. Crimson and..... silver! Like..._

The girl wandered over to the mansion again scoping the landscape for clues. She was extra careful about getting too close to the mansion. Every stone was literally turned, every leaf inspected, every bush ruffled, and yet... nothing. She threw a stone near the entrance to draw the people inside the mansion out. Not even a curtain shuffled. The girl crept near the entrance and opened the door. She found herself inside the mansion finally, but it was empty.

Not a soul in sight. Not a picture. Not a document. Not even painting on the walls! No furniture! No utilities! No animals! No sound! No…… Nothing! The answers she came there for were non existent. She felt empty inside. She scouted the empty mansion for several weeks and not a soul appeared. Did she imagine what happened that night with the Crimson Hoods? Was she going crazy? Did they relocate? What could've happened???

She went back to scouting the next 12 year olds and followed them, when the time was right, to the crimson hoods. There was something different this time about their sequence though. The girl believes she might just get her answers.


	4. Clover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the protagonist reveals another mystery of the forest, something peculiar happens that brings her origin to light

Slowly. Calmly. Heart thump. Foot step. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Eye blink. Hand stiffen. Leg stiffen. Large step forward. Foot lightly crunching dead oak leaves. 

The girl observes while the Crimson Hoods lead the new children into the mansion. They weren't given hoods. Their faces still intact. No van in sight to transport them to another location. The children just walked towards the mansion door. The girl slowly and quietly crept through the path of brush blocking the view of anything on the sides of the front pathway. The silver and crimson 5 story mansion with giant doors on the bottom floor was closer in sight now. The girl could see the floating shingles reflecting different colors and shapes around the balcony of the front porch. The glimmering lights ate away the anxiety. The gleam they radiated warmed the avarice of security. 

As the girl walks towards the mansion with her birth certificate in pocket, it starts to glow! As the doors ajar, the glow grew brighter. The girl tried shrouding the light, but the moment the Crimson Hoods gave the children their birth certificates in proximity of hers, the light was too vibrant even for closed eyes.The glow was so bright that it began to fill the forest! The crimson hoods saw this and rushed over to her, but It was too late.

The sun was forced to rise due to the glow. The crimson hoods vanished. The forest around the mansion was devastated. The mansion slowly faded from existence. The girl had sunken to the middle of this light! All she could see was the light shrouding her. All she could smell was her birth certificate. All she could taste was the saliva in her mouth. All she could feel was warmth. And all she could hear…Was a voice!

"Hi there little one," the voice intervened. _Who is this voice?_ "Do you know why you're here?" _Am I dead? Did I do something wrong?_ "What do you feel?" _This warmth! It feels so soothing._ "What do you see?" _This light is so blinding._ "Does this place feel..." _This space feels so..._ "...much like" _Home!_

"Before you ponder any longer, I must tell you about your upcoming journey. It will be far and treacherous, but worth it to see the end. I will be there with you to guide you. Just call for me in your heart and I'll guide you through to the answers you seek." _Answers? Guide? Journey?_ "What you find will be the miracle you never knew you wished, and the tragedy of those who didn't get to wish"

Such a haunting, yet benevolent warning had never sounded so refreshing. The girl slowly lifted her eyes as the voice spoke something she had never heard, "Remember this word, for it is your name." The girl's eyes twinkled so vibrantly as the voice uttered the secret she didn't know she wanted. Everything in her body reached a new level of homeostasis. Her mind was more clear than ever before! 

Right after the phrase was uttered, the girl's body felt as though it was sinking rapidly. Her flat stomach felt even flatter. The red hue in her hair started to brighten. Her teeth chattered a code so unique while her tongue tried to compliment it to utter the phrase the voice apprised her. Her clothing slowly molted from her usual dirty white overalls to a lax silky sky blue skirt with a clover symbol between her chest, pink leggings, and black flats with clover pins as the straps.

Through her transformation, something called to her in haste and worry. This voice was familiar and pulled her back to reality as the light subsided under her safely carrying her to the voice she heard. _Is that... you? Have you found me? Do I return to you now? Are you my guide now G..._


	5. Mekkah

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The protagonist goes on a journey to understand the truth of the forest.

Out of the abyss, a hand grabbed her. This hand felt familiar. It felt like home! The voice that called her sounded like home. The face that greeted her….was a nightmare! 

"Did you read it?" The gaze on the girl's face assured the old man she didn't read the birth certificate. "Do you still have it?" The girl glanced down in dismay as she realized the certificate had dissipated in the light. "You weren't supposed to know about this yet," the old man quivered, "you weren't supposed to go through this!" "Genru," the girl quivered. The old man's face went from concerned to content. His eyes were that of a father watching his daughter lead a new life for herself after marriage. His heart grew and beat in crescendo. His mind more focused than ever before. "I will guide you to your destination. The journey you venture will be treacherous, so never stray from your goal! The moment you stray from your path-even for a fraction of a second-they'll know! Don't allow temptation to conquer you and taint your thoughts!" 

Genru guided her to the spot of the hypnotic aura. "I cannot tell you what you'll find on this journey because everyone experiences something different. What I can tell you, though, is that you'll find great tragedy or great joy. Follow this path through the mist and never look back until you reach the end." The girl was frantic! _Are these my answers? Is this the end of my rode? Will I finally find peace? Or will I die before finding it?_

As she left on her journey: "Farewell little one. I enjoyed our time together," were the last words Genru spoke to her for she would not return to him, but to her truth...or her demise. One hesitant step forward. Two hesitant steps back. Mind racing frantically. Anxiety humming in crescendo. Reluctant forced run into the mist. Glance over shoulders through swaying red hair to see a void of grey mist encompassing sight. Heart murmuring _stay focused!_ Conscience saying _follow through!_

In the midst, the girl caught sight of a kid sitting near a ledge. This kid dressed in grunge with a dark plaid shirt, stonewashed ripped jeans, and black high tops. His hair dressed in pompadour fashion complimented his hazel eyes. The girl ran over to his direction and was amazed to see non red hair. The boy looked over to her and smiled a smile almost more genuine than Genru. "Take a seat. You've got all the time in the world," the boy assured her. The girl reluctantly rebuttals, "But I must not stray from my task." The boy's gaze assured her that she wouldn't stop for too long. "Come. Sit with me." The girl hesitantly submits.

"What brings you to a place like this? Are you in trouble," he inquires. "I'm on a journey that determines my fate. I must not stray from my path. I should get g..." "Is that what he told you?" The girl starts to blush in embarrassment. "How much do you truly know of Genru ma'am?" The girl hesitates to answer. "Did he tell you he'd be your guide, then spew some non sense about how you should stay on task?" The girl blushes harder in embarrassment. "He told me the same. I'm supposed to _find my truth_ here, but all I find is more mist. So instead of succumbing to the shadow, I'm gonna take my time and reach my destination on my own time." The girl stares at him with determination in her eyes and newfound self confidence, but before she could say anything, "I'm guessing you're going to leave anyway," he says with a light smile. She hesitates again to speak. "Do what you want, and try not to get yourself hurt. There's nothing more annoying than hearing a girl scream." The girl looked at him with disgust, but then shifted to concern as she watched his light smile turn into a lonely stare into the abyss. "Come with me!" The girl regrets her words as she thinks about what the boy said, but then: "Why should I? I've already lost my way," the boy assures, "I don't have Genru here to guide me like he promised." "Then I'll be your guide!" The boy stares at her in awe as he has never been told such a thing by anyone other than Genru. He stands up off the ledge and offers her a, "Will you really?" The girl nods one determined nod and the children walk together through the mist after exchanging a giggle.

As the children walk further into the mist, they hear a faint voice. Both pause to assess the situation. " _Anyone there?"_ The two run into the mist deeper following the voice. The voice gets louder as it hears the pitter patter of their feet. As the children reach the voice, they're greeted by a girl with red Mary Jane flats and a faded red dress with a red hat that had a golden feather on her left side. "More lost ones! Follow me! There's no time to explain!" The girl snatches both of their hands and speed walks them to the haven of lost children. Each child they saw had different clothes and styles with different colors of hair and attitudes. "I've found more," the girl yells as she drags the two new children around to greet and introduce them to everyone. The two new children seem extremely confused. "By the way, my name is Mary Sue. Who are you two?" The children hesitate to answer the red dressed girl as they couldn't remember their names. "Well that's ok! Alotta kids come here not knowing their own names. The mist affects us that way, but once you remember, you'll be liberated! Father Lance says so!" Mary Sue leads the kids to Father Lance. 

"Welcome to the Lost Haven," Father Lance greeted, "what are your names?" The children hesitate. "Well that's ok. You'll remember sure enough. Do you know where your birth certificates are?" The boy explains, "I tossed mine over the ledge." The girl's face as she stared away in embarrassment confirmed to Father Lance that she did not know where hers was either. "No problem. I'll send Mary Sue with you to retrieve it. As for you young lady..." The boy interrupts, "I won't go without her!" Father Lance glares in angst, "Fine. Prepare for your trip." As the children head over to inform Mary Sue of the situation, she says, "Guess we're finally gonna know your names!" The children seem reluctant to leave with the hyper Mary Sue, but trail off with her anyway. 

As they trace back to the ledge, Mary Sue informs them of what happens when they learn their name and explains a bit more about Father Lance. "Once you know your name, you'll understand everything! You'll know your parents, origin, past, future. Everything! Father Lance was the first to find his certificate while defying Genru. He says that old man knows nothing and is going senile sending children in here! So he makes it a goal to console us lost children." As the two listen to Mary prattle on, they remember Genru's words: _The moment you stray from your path-even for a fraction of a second-they'll know! Don't allow temptation to conquer you and taint your thoughts!_ Resonating with the warning, the children stopped midway through the path and weighed their options on following Mary. Mary sensed that they stopped and asked, "Why you two trailin' so far behind? We'll get there quicker if you keep up!" Genru's words resonating with them as they reluctantly follow Mary to the boy's certificate, the girl asks, "Mary Sue. Who... are you...really?"

Shocked by the question, Mary stops. The boy feels a familiar presence. The aura radiating from Mary seemed all too familiar. Mary slowly glances back with a nervous smile, "I'm Mary Sue! Scout for lost children in the mist." "Who was your guide," the boy asks skeptically. "Guide? What do you mean by _guide_?" The boy fearfully protects the girl with his arm pushing her back ever so slightly as Mary's answer didn't sit well with him. "Mary Sue. Answer the question. _What_ are you?" Mary slowly turns around and she is faceless. Her physical features slowly fading into a dark mist. Both children recognize this feeling all too well. There it was, plain as night. The mist started to darken around them. The boy hesitantly pulls the girl and runs back to Lost Haven as the shadow manifests. Both kids panting as the fear they felt slowed their running, arrived at Lost Haven to find the kids there bound from the brain by chains that ran through the mist. The kids looked in awe and dismay as they followed the trail of the chains back to Father Lance's book. 


	6. Father Lance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clover returns from her journey and must now face the repercussions of her choice.

As the girl completes her journey, she finds something at the abyss: A cloak of crimson and silver. She wore it and entered the mansion through the bright light. What she saw now was the truth! She was greeted with open arms into the mansion and she got her questions answered! _Where was I? Why was I on a journey? Who is the old man? What happened to my birth certificate?_

The Crimson Hoods inform her of the reason she should never read her birth certificate, but now she had a choice to make: If she reads her birth certificate, she may very well perish since she'd see her future and ultimately deny it, it's existence; Or she could stay with them and allow the storks to judge her sin. _What should I do?_ As she contemplates what to do, she remembers her journey and everything that happened. 

"What should we do," the boy whispers to himself, "what _could_ we do?" The two tried pulling on the other children's chains, but none of them even budge. Their heads stay in place; the chains barely yank; the children's eyes stared blank. The children, giving up on manually breaking the chains, head to Father Lance's book. The book was unguarded as if a trap was set in case someone touched it. The boy, hesitantly, opens the book and finds... blank pages. Each page he turned to no different than the rest. _What does this mean? We need to... We need... How do we..._ The boy started to panic as he believed they were running out of options. The girl started to panic as well, but then she remembered: _Just call for me in your heart and I'll guide you through to the answers you seek._ " The girl calmed down. She started to breathe more slowly; Her eyes filled with worry. _Guide me to the answers Genru, for I have lost my way._

A path within the mist formed. _Don't allow temptation to stray you from your path._ Those words resonated in her heart. The boy tried to figure out the book since he couldn't see the path through the mist. The girl snatched him and ran them through the path. The boy resisted with each foot step. "Where are you going?" "Through the mist to find answers!" The boy pulled himself out of her grasp, "There is nothing here! Are you going crazy!" "Genru is showing me the way!" "That old man? He doesn't know what he's talking about! We need to save those kids!" "I called to him! He's the one showing me the way!" "If he is, then he's no better than the shadow!" "Genru is our guide and I trust him because he's a nice person!" "If he's such a great person, then why would he make us run away from saving those kids?!" The girl gathered her thoughts. She pondered such a motive as the boy claimed, "Do what you want! Follow your precious Genru and leave for all I care! I won't leave them though! Someone needs to save them from their fetters! And if I have to go alone, I'll gladly risk my truth to save someone else's!"

As the boy ran back towards the darkening mist, the girl reluctantly ran through the path blindly trusting Genru's guidance. As she reached the end, the girl finds something peculiar. It was her birth certificate! The girl stood there amazed at the sight, then walks up to it only to find that it was a shining piece of paper. She picked it up and instantly her instincts tell her to say the phrase the voice had bestowed unto her... but she didn't. Guilt ridden and humming anguish in her heart, the girl runs back into the darkening mist to find the boy with her certificate in hand. She instinctively arrives back to where the book was only to find the boy about to be consumed by the shadow as he tries to take the book from Father Lance. "Genru will pay for defying the order," Father Lance yells. "Curse him and Deston for their failures! They will rue the day they crossed me!" 

The boy, confused, tried snatching the book out of Father Lance's hands, but instead was struck down. The girl intervenes through the storm shrouding the two by tackling Father Lance. As Father Lance falls, the boy takes the book and tries to pull it out of the storm to break the chains and free the kids. Unfortunately, the book just increased the length of the chains. Father Lance, now with the girl bound by neck with his arm as she struggles, offers a trade to the boy. "You don't know how the book works anyway! So give it to me!" The boy looks at Father Lance and tells him, "Screw you, Genru, this book, your followers, this shadow.... screw it all! If this book means so much to you, then here! Take it piece by piece!" Father Lance watched in dismay as the boy proceeded to rip the pages out of the book and tear the book apart. He viciously tosses the girl over the abyss and storms his way towards the boy with the most ferocious energy permeating his pores. "You will perish. I'll make sure of it you little ba..." Right before Father Lance could finish, the boy charged with all his strength and tackled Father Lance over the edge.

As the two fall for what seemed like an eternity, the boy snags onto something and Father Lance grabs onto him so as to not fall. They both looked up at what seemed like a miracle. The thing holding them there was the boy's birth certificate! Resilient and strong...ok the real thing holding them there was the girl! She had found the certificate right after she gripped the ledge. "What is that in your sleeve," the boy inquires. "It's for you," the girl answers, "I found it here stuck to the ledge." The boy sheds a tear so big it almost blinds Father Lance as it drops into his eye. "Pull me up you imbeciles, so that I can fix this!" The boy says to the girl, "Thank you!" Then he pulls himself out of her grip while grasping the certificate fallen from her sleeve. _My name...is..._ The boy and Father Lance fall into the abyss. The girl watches in shock as she witnesses the two disappear from view. 

The girl pulls herself up over the ledge as the shadow storm subsides slightly. She picks up the pieces of the book and heads right into the shadow. As the shadow pulsates all her failures and negative feelings through her body, the girl perseveres through the storm. She reaches the end and sees Mary Sue with a chain through her head like the other kids; her eyes dormant and dim. The girl hands the book to Mary and the storm creates a path for the girl while Mary is distracted. The girl races through the path not looking back as the path rapidly folds in behind her. Tears trailing behind her, the girl finally reaches the abyss that she started in, but the shadow consumes her before she fully exited.

The girl is sunken at the abyss with the shadow consuming her. Her thoughts muggy; her memory fading; her breath subsiding. _Where am I? What is this? Have I failed? Did I find my answers? What answers did I seek? Who am I? Why am I here? Who is...Genru! Remember_ : "Remember this word, for it is your name." The girl musters the last of her strength and screams the phrase the voice bestowed: "I! Am....CLOVER!"


	7. Daughter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clover learns about the first kids and the mystery behind them.

Now that Clover has reached pass the abyss and acquired her cloak, what now? Should she read her certificate now that its filled out completely, or does she put on the cloak and find the truth within her sin? As she ponders, Clover realizes that the faces of the Crimson Hoods were visible now! They all looked familiar to her. _These are the kids from Lost Haven!_ Realizing this, Clover searches for the boy, but to her dismay, instead of finding him, she finds Father Lance in the back of the crowd.

"Where is he," she yells to Father Lance. Looking over the crowd witnessing Genru enter the mansion, Father Lance yells, "You! You're the reason all of this happened! Now you'll face the consequences of your selfish decisions! Read your birth certificate girl! Show him what happens when you lose everything! Don't you want to get your answers?" "Enough," commanded Genru. Trailing over to him in haste and throwing him against the wall, Genru demands, "What are you doing free of your prison? What has happened?" "Why don't you ask that abomination you're protecting?! Tell her of the truth she seeks! Explain to her what happened! Tell all of these spawns why they're here!" The children from the estate all gather at the mansion to hear Father Lance's claim. "Genru. What does he mean," Clover inquired. "Fate has brought you here. Choose to wear the cloak and take the trial learning everything you wanted to know, or read the certificate and disappear along with your truth. Its your choice. Whatever you choose will determine the fate of this entire place."

Glancing over to the children of the estate gazing confused at the situation, then to the children draped in crimson of the mansion, and back to Genru pinning Father Lance against the wall, Clover decides to find the truth her way. "Read your truth girl," Father Lance insists. Clover, faced with a tough decision, remembers Genru's guidance and the care he put into raising every child at the estate. His cooking. His teaching. The kindness in his words and actions. Clover wanted to read her birth certificate, but she remembered the warning from the Crimson Hoods about how she'll disappear with no memory of the estate as they had. She also remembered what happened when the other kids put the cloaks on; how their faces melted away in the void. _Deny my future its existence? Or should I run the risk of becoming what I fear? What if the shadow consumes me again? But what happens when I..._ As Father Lance releases Genru's grip and shoves him away, Clover makes her decision.

There they were in a horde. A flock of storks prepared for work on a warm spring day. It was the season that new stork hatchlings would go on their first non practice run. This was the day that a special stork and his son would work together to find babies to deliver. The pair searched through the baby farm for ripe children of age. At the world tree, the father found a ripe baby and picked it off a branch into its break. The son, struggling to find a baby as his father urged him in haste, was slightly too young and wasn't fully ready for the new task as he didn't pay attention to how to search for ripe babies during his learning sessions. The son had been feeding his father untruths about how much he was excelling in his learning with the older storks and was thus, given his first mission early. In the son's head, he believed that _doing_ was learning, so he wasn't too afraid of failing his first time. Little did he know, but his first time would be beyond a disaster.

"Come on son! We don't have much time before the others leave!" "I'm coming dad! I just have to... be careful while doing this!" "This is the first time I've seen you nervous. Don't allow the anxiety to overwhelm you. You're going to do fine!" Now, more frantic than ever, the son picked his baby and flew over to his father. After a warm grin from his father, the two fly over to join the rest of the flock as they prepare to leave on their missions. "Are you ready to be able to make your own garden son?" "It'll never be as great as mine, but its great you're giving the young hope Genru," Father Lance interjects. "Maybe he would be more encouraged once you have your garden." "Maybe he will," Genru agrees as he smiles a _thank you._

The storks fly off to their assigned parents to deliver the children. "Be careful son," Genru yells as he flies away to his assigned parents. "No promises," the son adds sarcastically. During his first mission, the young storkling faces grey skies. Crackle. Drip. Shiver. Flashing light. Rapid drift wind. Shifting temperature. Warm. Chilled. Blinding strike. Sonic boom. The storkling finds himself in a bind trying to maneuver through the brewing storm. A crackle of thunder deafens him right after a trickle of lightning grazes his left wing. Out of control, the storkling ascends into a cloud filled with melting ice shards that splice his dampened feathers making them that much heavier. As the storkling gradually descends protecting the baby with all his might, he spots an island nearby and crash lands on his back into a covered area in order not to damage the baby. As his consciousness fades from time, the storkling protects the child with the last of his strength until the storm fades away.

As the storkling uncradles the baby after finally waking up, he noticed a figure picking something from a tree. The figure was dressed in dirty white overalls with red hair. After that figure collected what it needed, another showed and the cycle continued for five figures. _What is this? Where am I?_ A familiar voice echoed through the trees nearby and the storkling, in a panic, hid the baby in the spot in which they hid during the storm and followed the voice. "Either you pick faster, or there will be no dinner," echoed Father Lance. "It's you," the storkling said in shock. "Deston! What are you doing here?" "I crashed landed here after the storm." "That storm was 3 days ago! How have I not managed to encounter you until now?" _3 days ago?_ "Well I was unconscious for a while after trying to tough it through the storm." "Well at least you got your work done unlike these worthless meat bags." "Who are...what are they?" "The workers? They're children." _Children? On an island? What were they...they were picking other..._

"What is this place?" "It's my garden." "Why are children working in your garden?" "Because it builds character! Everything you make these children do before delivery they retain, and it makes them that much more valuable to the parents. In case you didn't know, there have been an increase of transporters in each garden. Once the garden is not sustainable enough to carry undeveloped children, they're transported to a surrogate farm so that they can develop inside a healthier host, so I came up with a solution through several trials and error. I've found that a baby can survive for up to 10 years, 9 years after ripening, and they can transport themselves via a special tool they acquire when they're ready: a birth certificate! They manifest at different times for each child, but I've found that they should only read these after they've reached 12 years fully so they're at their max readiness and can retain the skills I've taught them without being harmed by over ripening or a quick birth!" "Why are the children picking more children off the trees?" "Because it builds character! And it makes transportation that much easier if you train the older children to pick, care, and teach the younger children so the cycle moves by more efficiently and reduces the risk of transporters detouring to the island. My garden is the most efficient garden with little to no transporters coming here."

Deston, desperate to get answers, challenges Father Lance's trials and errors, "What happened to the children that became errors?" "They began to ooze a dark presence that I have exterminated." Deston, more frightened of Father Lance's methods, bid Father Lance a farewell. Before he leaves though, Father Lance warms him, "Don't tell the other storks of my methods because they will not understand and cause mayhem." Taking these words into consideration, Deston heads for the baby he was hiding while thinking of the method Father Lance used. _These kids are basically slaves! He's creating slaves and no one knows! But what can I do? No one will believe me over Father Lance with a nearly perfect delivery record. What could I do? I'd need someone on the inside to gather information for me. But who?_ In this moment, Deston thought of something that he would regret. In his desperate attempt, Deston placed his baby near one of the world trees in the hopes that the babies would find her and assimilate her while he constantly checked on her explaining the mission more and more as she got older. 

Once the baby reached 4 years, Deston checked on her in the spot they hid when he first arrived on the island. By this time, Genru finally had his own garden during the 2 year gap, so Deston was determined to free the kids by bringing them to Genru's garden. He had devised a plan in which he would steal as many seeds off Father Lance's island as possible each day until his trees became unbearably barren. The girl had wandered over to the spot as if she was drawn there by a mysterious force and spotted Deston. "Who are you?" "I am your guardian angel sent here to give you a noble mission. Do you accept the challenge?" "What is this mission?" "There is a terrible plague encompassing this island and only you can stop it! You must gather as many seeds as you can everyday and leave them here for me so that I can transport them away from the island so no one is infected. Do you accept the mission?" The little girl, more intrigued than ever to help her island family, took on the task valiantly. 

After a few years of transporting the seeds single handedly to Genru's island, Deston got a younger storkling to help him transport telling them that they were helping Father Lance secretly. The storkling helping was none other than Father Lance's daughter, Mary. By this time, the girl had entrusted a few companions of her own to aid in gathering seeds for the guardian. Everything was operating smoothly for the next few years until something manifested in Genru's garden. A dark presence started to manifest. Genru was devastated to find a shadow shroud some of his children, so he tried to expel it from them in a desperate attempt. Deston, devastated by his father's reaction, couldn't bare having his father believe he had done something wrong with his garden, so he explained his plan to Genru in the hope that his father wouldn't do something crazy like confronting Father Lance. "Please dad! Don't do anything stupid! We can't afford Father Lance unmasking the plan and causing an uproar because it could make the situation more dangerous than it already is." "Well what am I supposed to do? Just watch my children get consumed by this dark entity until you find a way to transport it here?" "No dad! But until we shut down Father Lance for good, this darkness won't stop spreading to these children! I've been gathering information through a mole trying to understand what it is, but until I'm certain of what we're dealing with, please just bare with me until I get more information!" Genru reluctantly trusts his son's efforts, and tries to gather information on the shadow his own way. 

Genru notices that the shadow was gathering and moving towards something, so he followed it towards its destination. Deston headed back to Father Lance's garden where he found an angry Father Lance scolding the children for how little they produced this season. He noticed that as he was scolding the children, the shadow started manifesting and shrouding them, then Father Lance opened a book with a clover of crosses as the symbol and the shadow was swallowed by it. After the shadow was consumed, there was something more peculiar about the book. It had multiple chains running through it that attached themselves to the heads of the children. The children then began to unconsciously continue their duties as if they were hypnotized. 

As Deston confronts his mole, Genru appears on the island. "Stop this abominable act this instant Lance!" "What ever do you mean?" "The children! The shadow! All of it needs to end now!" "Your wretched brat told you didn't he? And you're just now confronting me? How interesting after all these years you finally come to stop me." "I've just learned of your treachery today!" "Interesting. You mean your brat never told you until now? How convenient that the day I find out my baby stock had drastically plummeted that you'd learn of my garden's secrets. It's almost as if... the two are linked." Genru's expression showed fear in a way that only a parent would when their children were threatened. "Ah. They are. Which means your son is the reason my baby count has dwindled. But how?" Mary stood beside Father Lance silent. Her face was in awe. The aura radiating from her was enough to make someone go insane. Before Father Lance tried to gather more information, Genru warns, "No matter your plans, or threats, or convoluted schemes, you've caused a problem that needs to be fixed. The shadow has reached the prime world tree." 

"Hey! Are you awake," Deston yells to the girl. "Yes! What's going on? I've never seen this before!" Deston was more confused than he ever was before. "I wish I could tell you, but I'm at a loss." Deston then witnessed Father Lance and Genru flying over them heading in the direction of the prime world tree. Deston then grabs the girl and follows them. "Where are we going?" "To get answers!"


	8. Birth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clover undergoes the trial of the cloak and it determines whether she exists after she turns 12.

As Father Lance and Genru arrive at the prime world tree, Deston and the girl arrive as well in the distance observing. "This is what you've caused Lance!" Staring in awe at the sight, Father Lance observes in denial. "I-it can't....no! I was...I made sure...how?" The two stare at the world tree shrouded in a grey mist slowly being warped inside. "This is impossible! I was sure to capture and catalog the shadow within this book! How could it have leaked out of it? That's preposterous! There's no way it could... unless!" It all became clear to Father Lance at that moment. It wasn't him that caused the disaster, it was Deston. "Your son is the cause of this!" Genru was struck with disbelief, but then he thought about what Deston had done and how the shadow had manifested in some of the children. "This sin in not on me Genru, for it was your son!" 

Deston listens in awe at the conclusion. _Was what I did wrong? Did I cause a bigger problem than what was already happening? Have I released this problem unto the world?_ Deston appears before the storks with the girl. "Deston! Why! I told you not to tell the others or something like this would happen!" "I didn't tell anyone what you were up to. I've just been liberating your children from your garden so they wouldn't be consumed by your madness!" "You wretch! Since my warnings meant nothing to you, why don't you fix the mistake you've caused!" As the three storks bicker, the other storks come towards the shrouded tree after sensing something off. "Why don't you tell the storks how you've been enslaving children!" The storks look baffled at Father Lance. "Compared to what you've done, I've been liberating them from the ignorance of this system! Instead of just sending the children to their parents during ripening and having the children acquire their parents' behaviors, I've given them their own skills, developed their minds, and given them a separate identity so they're not brainwashed by their parents' beliefs and can think for themselves once they've grown. All you've done is re enslave them to this faltered system!" The storks watch in dismay as the shroud gets large and starts to encompass the island gradually. Deston tackles Father Lance inside the mist while Genru tries to follow them.

The mist was too thick for Genru to see them, so he protected the child instead so she wouldn't get swept into the mist with no way out. The other storks try to fly away, but they're bound by Father Lance's chains the same way the kids were, and dragged into the mist towards him. One of the chains tries to attach itself to Genru, but it shatters while he's holding the child. As Deston battles Father Lance, the book opens and both watch is fright as the shadow emerges more powerful than ever. The two watch as the storks are dragged towards the shadow and slowly transform into the kids that were bound by Father Lance in his garden. 

Witnessing the feat, Genru noticed that a chain was headed towards Deston, so he zoomed towards him as fast as he could to intercept it. "Father!" Deston watches in dismay as the chain bonds to his father and his eyes start to turn grey while he transforms into an old human holding the child. Before he lost his grip, Deston takes the child away from Genru as Genru descends towards the shadow. Father Lance intercepts the kid and heads towards the shadow murmuring, "I need to make this right!" Deston chases after them as they fly into the shadow. "Stop it Father Lance! You don't know what you're doing!" "I'm sacrificing this baby like the rest that have manifested a shadow. Why do you think she's unaffected by it?" The girl resists in Father Lance's talons as they reach the center of the shadow. They spot the book Father Lance carries with him, but right as he grabs the book with his beak, Deston snatches the girl and heads for the abyss. Chains sprout from the book and bind Deston within the shadow causing him to pitch the girl towards the abyss. As she flies towards the abyss, the girl saw a shining piece of paper. As the girl reaches pass the paper, she descends rapidly and snatches the glowing paper causing the shadow to try and smother her so she could not say the word the paper displayed. Deston catches her, barely, as he is being dragged down by the chains and slowly transforms into a kid dressed in grunge. "What does it say?" The girl could barely catch her breath as the shadow entered her throat. "What does it say! The shadow clearly doesn't want you saying what's on the paper!" At this moment, Deston lost his grip as he fully transformed into a child. Before the girl fell, he grabbed her hair and that shocked her with enough pain to scream the word on the paper, "Stark!" 

The shadow began to protrude glimmers of light. It started to subside and dwindle as the entire island was shrouded by the massive light. "Stark," was the last thing Deston screamed as he descended into the light. Genru was visible now floating as he was being carried by Mary. The girl fell into his arms and told him her name. His eyes that were turning grey transformed to a sky blue; shiny clothing appeared on his body; his body became that of an old, bald, white bearded man; and his voice changed to that of a deeper note in which he repeated, "Stark!" Mary intercepted the last bit of shadow trying to bond to Stark and it pierced her through the heart while consuming her.

As Genru awoke, his memories were a bit jumbled. In his hands were 2 fork shaped keys with one being crimson and the other silver. When he picked them up he could feel the essence of Deston in the Crimson and Stark in the silver. In front of him was an estate built by the kids in Father Lance's garden. He ventured through the oak ridden forest to a place with a hypnotic aura that he could barely resist. He found faceless people in crimson and silver hoods guiding children 12 and older to transporters or inside the crimson and silver mansion where they disappeared after reading a shining paper or began to sprout crimson and silver cloaks while their faces started to disappear. 

As she finishes the trial of the cloak, Clover discovers something about the island. "I understand it all now! Everyone in the hoods is a stork! All of these kids are a mixture of storks and humans! All the storks are guided to become Crimson Hoods, while the human children are guided to their birth on transporters or after they read their birth certificate at the age of 12! We ripen for 2 years and enter the estate a year after ripening! Its all so clear to me now! And the boy! That boy! He was...he had to be!" "Slow down Clover," Genru advises her as she is talking without taking a breath. "Genru! Your son! He was in Lost Haven! The Crimson key is the essence of Deston protecting the storks while the silver is the essence of Stark protecting the children the storks turned into!" Shocked by the names Clover just spoke, Genru began to remember his past before the estate and it overwhelmed his mind to the point that he released Father Lance due to the headache, giving Father Lance the opportunity to transform and carry Clover off before she revealed too much. "You just had to reveal the past didn't you! Well let me enlighten you with something girl! For you to know all of this after the trial means you're the shadow!" 

Clover was shocked by Father Lance's assumption. "The fact that you weren't even affected by the shadow in the mist proves it!" But then Clover remembered that she was attacked by the shadow while trying to unlock the box in the closet. _What does that mean?_ "Father Lance! I am not the shadow!" "I don't have time for your tricks demon!" "I was attacked by the shadow before I entered the mist!" Father Lance paused and flapped in place. "What do you mean?" "While trying to look for a way to open the box that held the second key, I had a run in with the shadow! What could that mean?" Father Lance remembered how Stark wasn't affected by the shadow until she received her birth certificate inside the mist. He was watching when Stark fell towards Deston and the shadow tried to smother her. "It means that you should read your certificate and free us from this world created by Stark!" 

Genru appears flying full force towards Father Lance. "Let's end this Genru." The three headed back towards the mansion. Right before Father Lance could pick up the certificate, the shadow enters him after Mary forces his book open. Father Lance began to transform back into his purple robe, but this time it was draped with a black fire pattern; his eyes turned grey with black marks surrounding his eyes in a sun pattern; his book transformed into a staff; the shadow transformed into a necklace filled with 6 keys of the colors crimson, white, purple, silver, black, and green in order from left to right; and a storm with red lightning in a swirling black shroud covered the island. As the shadow left her body to enter Father Lance, Mary fainted. Midway through the transformation, Genru tried to attack Father Lance, but was stuck down by a thin bolt of red lightning. 

As Father Lance reigns down devastation to the island, Clover rallies everyone to attack him at once. Each child picked up the closet object and charged at Father Lance. The shroud of darkness protected him from the attacks though. Meanwhile, Clover realized her birth certificate was under Father Lance. As the kids distracted him enough, Clover maneuvered through the crowd for cover and dove towards the certificate to claim it. The certificate's light was the only thing that hurt Father Lance. As the light was harming Father Lance, the other children's birth certificates started to appear. As Clover's light wasn't enough to bind the shadow, she saw multiple lights forming behind the shadow and called out, "Point the light towards the shadow!" All the kids surrounded the shadow and the light protected them from the onslaught Father Lance was protruding. As the light weakens the shadow, Genru lunges himself with the last of his strength into Father Lance's heart with his beak and the storm grew more ferocious tearing the island apart. Clover tells Genru and all the kids to drop their certificates and run. They all drop their certificates in a familiar shape... almost like...a clover! Clover gets an idea. Before the names were fully revealed on everyone's birth certificate, Clover rearranged them into a Clover shape pattern and jumped into the middle screaming, "Take me instead!"

The words on her certificate melt to the side she was gazing and as Clover reads it aloud, she awakens to find herself being pulled out of her mother's womb. "Mrs. Rose! Mr. Rose! Here's your lovely baby girl," the doctor screams as she hands the baby to her mother. "What will you name her?" "Clover. Clover Rose," the mother says. The birth certificate in the nurse's hand as she wrote the baby's name revealed the parents' names: Stark and Deston Rose.

Back at the estate, things were drastically different. There was now a gate with one side dark and the other light that shifted as each kid walked near it revealing how much good and evil were inside of them. The gate would open once the guardian placed the crimson and silver keys inside their key holes on the podiums near the gate. The guardian was Genru. The gate was inside the mansion guarded by the Crimson Hoods inside the mansion and a familiar man dressed in grunge was guiding children to the mansion to get their certificates once they were of age. "Help me Father Brandon," troubled one of the children walking towards the mansion. The estate, however, was now run by a new guardian. There she was, wiping off a little girl's face, dressed in red Mary Jane flats and a faded red dress with a red hat that had a golden feather on the left side. "Thank you Ms. Mary Sue," the little girl says with a smile.


End file.
